


last christmas, i gave you my heart

by morganthefangirl



Category: Stalking Jack the Ripper - Kerri Maniscalco
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Coffee Shop, F/M, Singing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-23
Updated: 2019-12-23
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:28:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21912967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/morganthefangirl/pseuds/morganthefangirl
Summary: a little cressworth holiday fic <3(a certain someone sings Last Christmas to Audrey Rose)
Relationships: Audrey Rose Wadsworth/Thomas Cresswell, Thomas Cresswell/Audrey Rose Wadsworth, cressworth - Relationship
Kudos: 21





	last christmas, i gave you my heart

Audrey Rose couldn’t quite remember how her cousin Liza convinced her to attend the Holiday Open Mic Night at the coffee house near campus, and definitely couldn’t remember how her cousin forced her to wear such a lovely black dress. 

But what she could remember was Liza shoving makeup brushes in her face and naming products that Audrey Rose had never learned in her life. 

Liza pulled her hat down over her ears, being careful not to ruin her makeup. In a sweet voice, she asked, “Are you still mad at me, dear cousin?”

It took every bone in Audrey Rose’s body not to turn to her cousin and push her into the snow. Instead, she cast a glance in her cousin’s direction before looking down at the footprints she was leaving in the snow. “I don’t know, Liza. How could I be mad at the woman who stabbed me in the eye with a mascara wand?”

“But I apologized! Profusely!” Liza yelled. 

Audrey Rose chose to make her cousin suffer in silence as the two of them turned the corner and started nearing the coffee house. Outside of the two-story building, dim yellow lights glowed against the brick wall as snow kept trickling down from the sky above. The wind blew against the wooden sign that stuck out right above the doorway, making it seem as if the coffee cup on the logo was actually giving off steam. 

It was one of the loveliest places that Audrey Rose had ever seen, and she wished that she was able to come here more often. 

The only reason Liza has even found out about this place was through her ex-boyfriend, Harry. After he had graduated and left to tour the country, the place became a safe space for Liza to mourn the loss of her relationship. 

“Isn’t this place beautiful at night?” Liza linked her arm through her cousin’s. 

In awe and breathless wonder, all Audrey Rose could do was nod. 

Liza nudged her side and said in a quiet voice, “Let’s go.”

Despite the cold, the girls took their time admiring the old building before stepping inside and walking toward the line of people in front of the counter. 

There was a good amount of people already seated with their drink orders in front of the makeshift wooden stage. Liza had warned Audrey Rose that the place would be packed to the brim, but they seemed to arrive in just enough time to beat the rush of people before the night truly started. 

The chalkboard menus hung from wires strung to the ceiling and were filled with loads of decorations and drawings of different drinks. There were all different kinds of coffee, tea, hot chocolate, small desserts, it was almost too much to take in at once. 

Liza turned to Audrey Rose. “Will you get me my usual coffee order and a chocolate chip muffin? I’m going to go and find us some seats.”

With a quick wink, her cousin was off, speed walking toward a table in the middle of the room. Audrey Rose tried to open her mouth to yell after her, but closed it when no words came out. Instead, she pouted her lips and waited patiently for her turn in line. 

“I should hate to think that pout is because of me, Wadsworth.”

She hated that the voice coming from beside her cause her heart to beat a little bit faster. Turning, she said, “Hello, Cresswell.” She looked him up and down. “I didn’t see you come over here.”

Thomas Cresswell had been a thorn in her side ever since the start of the semester. He’d hailed from Romania, where he studied under one of the most famous forensic scientists in the world. Now, he was attending her very school and apprenticing under her uncle with her. 

He was almost too handsome, with his dark hair, sharp jaw, and eyes that seemed golden brown in the candlelight. Even with her wedge boots on, he still towered over her. Tonight he wore a dark shirt with the sleeves rolled up and a pair of blue jeans which he tucked into the top of his boots. 

His smirk was evident when he realized that she was checking him out, and Audrey Rose realized how badly she wanted to jam her scalpel into that pretty little smirk of his.

Before he could say anything, she said, “I’m here with my cousin, Liza. She was the one who just walked away from me over there.”

A lazy grin graced his features. “I’m guessing she couldn’t handle my dashing good looks like you can, Wadsworth.”

“You’re so full of it, Cresswell,” she said, rolling her eyes. 

He rested his arm on her shoulder. “But you didn’t deny my beauty. I think I might be growing on you, Wadsworth.”

The small stutter of her heart proved his words true, but all Audrey Rose could say was, “In your dreams.”

“Only every night.” He stepped a bit closer to her, close enough to send a small flush to her cheeks. She tried to play it off as just the cold from outside, shivering a bit and pulling her coat a bit closer.

Being Thomas Cresswell, of course he noticed. A bit of concern flashed in his eyes. “Are you cold, Wadsworth?” he asked, his voice a bit soft. “Maybe once you’re done ordering, you and your cousin can come and sit by my sister and I. We’re sitting near the fire.”

Audrey Rose searched for her cousin in the crowd of people, but couldn’t find her. She turned to Thomas and smiled. “I’m sure it won’t be necessary, but thank you. I’m sure my tea will warm me up just fine.”

He raised an eyebrow, looking her up and down before resorting back to his grin. With his deep voice, he said, “At least you’ll know where to find me if you need another source of body heat.” 

With that, he walked toward the crowd, becoming lost in a sea of people. 

It was really amazing, the effect that he had on her and her heart. She knew from the moment that he walked into her uncle’s advanced forensics course that he would be trouble, but she never bargained how much. 

She needed to stop thinking about him. Thomas Cresswell should’ve been her enemy, he was really the only one she was competing for the top spot in the class for. And with all of the sly comments and not so subtle looks in her direction, it should’ve been easy to hate him. 

But it wasn’t. He was actually kind, and nothing like the automaton that people said he was. In class, he would always speak his mind, but do it politely and not insult others. Hell, even when he was most annoying in the internship with her uncle, it was always just a friendly competition. 

Oddly, Thomas was exactly the type of man she could spend the rest of her life with. And it drove Audrey Rose up a wall. 

After she had ordered her items and grabbed them from the side counter a few minutes, Audrey Rose started to go through the sea of people in order to find her cousin. 

There were many faces there that she should recognize, but none of their names came to mind. She had really ought to go out and socialize with people her age a bit more instead of spending time with cadavers. 

She was able to find Liza after her cousin had stuck her hands up and waved her down like a maniac. 

And to Audrey Rose’s never-ending pile of bad-luck, the table Liza had picked was right next to Thomas Cresswell’s.

Shit.

“Hello, my dearest Audrey Rose!” Thomas exclaimed, a giant grin on his face. “Turns out you ended up right beside me anyway.”

The woman next to him elbowed him in his stomach, earning a delighted look from Audrey Rose, and an odd one from Liza. She introduced herself as Cresswell’s older sister, Daciana. Audrey Rose shook her hand after placing her items on her table. 

Daciana’s eyes were alight with mischief. “It’s finally nice to meet the girl my brother talks about so often,” she said. 

Casting a wary look at her, Audrey Rose said, “All good things I hope.”

“You wound me with how poorly you think of me, Audrey Rose.”

She smiled at him. “Your ego could probably withstand a few hits.”

Liza pulled her down to sit next to her. “Your flirting has improved over time, cousin!” Liza whispered excitedly into her ear. 

Audrey Rose rolled her eyes and whispered back, “It’s not flirting.”

“Sure, hon.”

The two of them continued to talk to each other and to the Cresswells right beside them for a lot of the night. Acts came up and performed and they were pretty good overall. Most sang old Christmas time classics in festive sweaters.

It was a pretty great night in Audrey Rose’s book, she realized as she downed the rest of her tea. She had found a place she would visit more often, she got to spend some time with her cousin, and she even got to see a bit more of Thomas Cresswell’s life outside the laboratory and classroom.

Towards the end of the night, Thomas got up and told them, “I have matters to attend to, I’ll be right back.” 

Despite being sad that he was leaving for only a few moments, Audrey Rose did quite like the view of his muscular back as he walked away from them.

Daciana smiled at Audrey Rose. “It’s nice seeing someone like my brother as much as he likes them.”

A blush appeared bright on her cheeks, and she tried to look down at the floor to avoid eye contact and get her emotions under control. 

“I don’t think he likes me like that,” Audrey Rose confessed.

Before Daciana could refute her claim, a light smattering of applause went up in the crowd as the next performer came up to the stage. 

Liza’s jaw dropped open as Audrey Rose turned to look at the stage. All she could do was sit jaw-dropped like her cousin as Thomas took a seat on the stage. 

“Hello, hello, everyone. I hope you’re all having a good night tonight.” He grinned. “My name is Thomas, and I’ll be singing one of my favorite Christmas songs of all time, and it goes out to someone special who will get my heart this Christmas.”

Somehow, his eyes found hers in the crowd of people, and he winked. 

The famous opening to the song started playing over the speakers, and the crowd cheered as they finally caught on to his play of words. 

“Last Christmas, I gave you my heart, but the very next day you gave it away. This year, to save me from tears, I'll give it to someone special,” he sang, a smile gracing his features. 

As the music continued playing, he pretended to be playing whatever instrument made the dinging noises, and it made Audrey Rose laugh and grin. 

“Once bitten and twice shy, I keep my distance, but you still catch my eye. Tell me, baby. Do you recognize me? Well, it's been a year, it doesn't surprise me. I wrapped it up and sent it, with a note saying, "I love you, " I meant it. Now, I know what a fool I've been, but if you kissed me now I know you'd fool me again.”

His singing voice was actually as smooth and wonderful as his regular one, and Audrey Rose felt her heart catch every time he would make eye contact with her when he was singing. 

Liza and Daciana kept glancing at her throughout the song, just to see if she was upset or if something was off, but Audrey Rose couldn’t be happier. Thomas was kind of making a fool of himself, for her. And it was amazing. 

The crowd was loving it too, and Audrey Rose made sure to savor every moment, knowing that Daciana was recording her brother on her phone. 

As he sang the last verse, he started getting a bit quieter. “Last Christmas, I gave you my heart, but the very next day you gave it away. This year, to save me from tears, I'll give it to someone special.”

Everyone in the room burst into applause, and Audrey Rose stood to her feet and started cheering along with Daciana and Liza. Thomas, never missing a chance to be theatrical, took a large bow, and yelled, “Thank you, you all have a good night!”

He hopped off the stage and went over to where the girls stood. Still smiling, he asked, “Audrey Rose, can we go for a walk together outside?”

With Liza and Daciana tossing knowing looks her way, Audrey Rose nodded and grabbed her coat. 

The two of them walked out of the coffee shop side-by-side as they walked toward the familiar direction of campus. 

Despite his slight smile, Thomas’s voice held a note of worry as he asked, “Did you enjoy it?”

She turned to him, stopping them both under a streetlight, barely protecting them from the flurries of snow still falling down. “Thomas, I loved it, it was wonderfully entertaining and delightful,” she teased. 

For a moment, time seemed frozen as the two of them stood still, smiling at each other like the love-struck morons they were. It was Audrey Rose’s most blissful moment of her entire year. 

“Did you really mean it?” she asked tentatively. “Am I really the special person who has earned your heart?”

His eyes were genuine and full of admiration as he nodded. “You have had it for quite some time, maybe since the first day I saw you.”

She raised an eyebrow. “But we hated each other almost immediately.”

He scoffed. “You could never hate me, I’m just too good-looking and devilish for you to ignore, and that’s what you hated.”

Smiling, she clasped their hands together as she said, “Oh, my mistake.”

“I was actually thinking about giving you a heart as a present, but I didn’t think your uncle would be too happy with that, or you for that matter.”

Audrey Rose almost smacked him upside the head. “That would’ve been a ridiculous present, Cresswell. Besides, I like the one you just sang to me.”

Thomas stepped closer to her. “Bet that you can’t top it.”

Taking one step closer and tilting her head up, Audrey Rose smiled. “You’re on.”

With that, Audrey Rose closed the gap between the two of them and placed her lips on his for the best Christmas season kiss ever.

**Author's Note:**

> i hope you all enjoyed! this story and some of my other writings can be found on my tumblr, @thefandomhighqueen


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